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Surging Cincinnati defeats punchless Syracuse

Oct 28, 2006 - 8:06 PM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Dustin Grutza threw for 205 yards and a touchdown as Cincinnati kept punchless Syracuse winless in the Big East Conference with a 17-3 victory.

Greg Moore ran for 70 yards and a score for the surging Bearcats (5-4, 2-2 Big East), who have won four of their last five games, losing only to conference powerhouse Louisville by six points during that stretch.

Cincinnati continued to play solid defense. It was coming off a 23-6 victory over South Florida in which it did not allow a score until the final minute and limited Syracuse (3-6, 0-4) to just 180 yards and a first-half field goal.

The defense stymied Orange quarterback Perry Patterson, who threw for a career-high 303 yards in last week's loss to Louisville. Patterson completed just 13-of-29 passes for 119 yards and was sacked four times.

Grutza was 13-of-18 with two interceptions. He hooked up with Derrick Stewart on a 37-yard touchdown pass that capped an 83-yard drive in five plays and gave Cincinnati a 17-3 lead with 9:47 to play.

Moore carried 17 times, including a two-yard TD run that snapped a 3-3 tie with 4:47 remaining.

Stewart caught three passes for 91 yards and Kevin Lovell kicked a 20-yard field goal in the first quarter for the Bearcats, who have won three of the last four meetings.

True freshman Delone Carter had 85 yards on 21 carries for Syracuse, which was held to 13 points or fewer for the fifth time this season.